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Commentary
UN Security Officer’s Ivory Trafficking Conviction Opens Pandora’s Box of Queries
By Chris Morris, International Policy Digest In the shadowy world of ivory trafficking, akin to the narco trade, the stature of the accused is often gauged by the volume of the contraband or the prestige of their legal representation. By such a barometer, Kenya has adjudged a case of seminal importance. On October 23, within the dual-purpose confines of an office and courtroom at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi, Handrianus Theodore Putra, an Indonesian national with duties as a UN security officer, was convicted and sentenced for possessing and intending to distribute...
Cameroon’s indigenous Baka sing to save their vanishing forest home
By Ngala Killian Chimtom in Yaounde - RFIIn the south-eastern rainforests of Cameroon, the indigenous Baka people are seeing their habitat decimated by logging, farming, mining and construction. Where once they sang and danced to celebrate a hunt or give thanks to the spirits, their traditional performances have become acts of protest and calls for conservation. The sun has set, but the forest is alive with sounds. The Baka gather around a large fire, their faces glowing in the flickering light. They are ready to celebrate a successful hunt, to honour their ancestors, and to connect with the...
News
Vietnam Jails Ivory, Rhino Horn Trafficker For 12 Years
By AFP, Barron's Vietnam has sentenced a man to 12 years in jail for smuggling rhino horns and elephant ivory from Angola, said a wildlife protection group, adding that strict penalties were a key...
Canada bans import, export of elephant ivory and rhino horns including hunting trophies
By Alexandra Mae Jones, CTV News In a bid to help protect elephants and rhinos amid plummeting biodiversity worldwide, Canada has banned the import and export of hunting trophies containing elephant...
Kenya: Two arrested with 77kgs of elephant tusks worth Sh12m in Samburu
By Cyrus Ombati, The Star Two men were on Tuesday arrested while trafficking 36 pieces of elephant tusks weighing 77 kilogrammes valued at Sh12 million in Maralal, Samburu county. The men were...
Press releases
Press Release: Elephant Trophy Imports Should Cease Until the New 4(d) Rule is Final
By Center for Biological Diversity, Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International and Humane Society Legislative Fund. Please Halt Elephant Trophy Imports Until the Revised African Elephant4(d) Rule is Final and Deny Elephant Trophy Imports from Botswana. Dear Secretary...
Studies
Ice Ivory to White Gold: Links Between the Illegal Ivory Trade and the Trade in Geocultural Artifacts
By Caroline Cox and Luke Hauser - Taylor & Francis Online Abstract The...
Elephant teeth have evolved in response to climate change for millions of years
By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com A new study from the University of Helsinki...
“Hunting Africa”: how international trophy hunting may constitute neocolonial green extractivism
By Sian Sullivan - Journal of Political Ecology Abstract In the post-Cold War...
Reports
The Risks of Trophy Hunting
By Dr Adam Cruise, Dr Keith Lindsay and Dr Mark Jones This is a response to a document circulated by Brian Child et al entitled Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill: The Risks to Conservation, Rights and Livelihoods. Broadly, the document claims that the Bill will undermine conservation...
About
The Journal of African Elephants was created by a group of concerned journalists, biologists and conservationists, who, after years of tracking and documenting the catastrophic decline of Africa’s elephant populations, have recognised the urgent need for a dedicated English and French news and commentary space to enhance and increase global awareness of the plight of Africa’s savanna and forest elephants. Our Commentary service, in particular, are writers that focus on the need to provide awareness of Africa’s elephants and affected surrounding human communities from a distinctly African perspective that, for the most part, is lacking in the dominance of Western media.